Feelin The Burn

Hannah

“I’m here! I’m here!” I heard a yell down the short hallway to the studio door as I was getting ready to stow my bag in one of the lockers along the side.

Oh, thank God.

“What the fuck, Park? I almost had to do this alone,” I hissed as he jogged down the hallway to where I was standing.

“If you’re gonna take this class with her, I need you to hurry up and fill this out, man.” Ty came up behind Parker as I bent down to pull off my regular tennis shoes.

“Sure… yeah…” Parker sighed as he turned to face Ty. “Oh… well, hello there.”

Great, now he was going to be distracted, flirting with the hot guy.

“You better hurry. Or I’ll murder you,” I growled as he followed Ty back down the hallway. He mimed grabbing Ty’s ass and wiggled his eyebrows over his shoulder.

“Pervert.” Parker grinned at the hiss in my voice as I tried to lean down to tie my shoelaces. I knew I should have gone back to one of the benches, but I just wanted to get this over with.

“Are you coming?” Mal, the supermodel trainer, peeked out the door and tapped her watch as I stood back up.

The blood rushed to my head, and I swayed a little. She sighed and rolled her eyes, then disappeared again through the door.

“Okay... okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Parker was bouncing on the balls of his feet as he came toward me. I rolled my eyes as he stretched his arms across his chest and then pulled each leg up behind him to stretch.

“I hate you.” My eyes narrowed as I watched his little masculine display of athleticism.

“I can leave.”

“Then I’ll murder you. I know where you live.”

He shoved his bag into the locker next to mine and grabbed his water bottle.

“Get your bottle out, babe.”

“Shit. I almost forgot.” I grabbed my water bottle out of the side pocket of my bag and ensured the lid was tight. Parker kept his eyes on me, and I think he could see the tremor in my hands.

“You need to calm down, Han. You got this. Just go at your own pace.”

“Easy for you to say, your pace can lap mine.”

“We’re on treadmills. Nobody is gonna lap you.” The humor in his voice was evident; he was enjoying how unsettled this all made me.

Bastard.

“Smartass.”

“My ass looks fabulous in these shorts? Why thank you, Han.”

We heard someone speaking through the door on a microphone, and Ty peered around the wall by the front desk. “She’s starting. You might wanna get in there.”

“Go, Han,” Parker said, gently nudging me toward the door.

“I can’t do this,” I said, my pulse pounding in my ears.

“Go. Or I will leave you by yourself in this hallway. You want me here for motivation. I’m motivating,” Parker scolded as he pulled on my arm. “Move it, Daniels.”

Taking a shaky breath, I nodded and reached for the door handle.

“Finally…” Mallory muttered as she pushed the microphone on her headset up. “Stations five and six. Get in there.”

“Uh…what am I supposed to be doing?”

She shot me an unimpressed look.

“Just go press start. Walkers stay between 3.5 and 4.5.” She swiveled toward Parker. “Runners are 6.5 and up.”

“Both of you find a comfortable walking pace, and I’ll give instructions once I get the group on the TRX going.”

She made a shooing motion at both of us and turned toward a group of about ten people who were waiting by a mirrored wall.

“Come on. Let’s do this,” Parker clapped his hands and then grabbed one of mine, towing me toward the treadmills. They each had a number emblazoned on one of the side rails. I stepped onto five, and Parker stepped onto six.

Despite her snarky comment about walkers, I punched in a 3.5 and started walking. Parker put in a six and started a light jog. I wanted to hit him, but I would probably fall off the damn treadmill if I tried.

“What the hell is that shit?” There was a television mounted up on the wall above us; it was broken up into little squares with names and several numbers on them.

“It’s tracking your stats,” Parker glanced up at the screen and tapped his heart rate monitor.

“What? For the whole room to see?”

“Calm down, girl, no one knows your name. They’re looking at their own, not yours.”

“Fuck. Now Mal will know what my stats are.” My voice rose a little in panic.

“The trainer?”

I nodded as I looked over to where she was demonstrating some kind of plank on the floor.

That was not going to happen. No way.

“Her name is Mal? Like Maleficent?”

A soft snort slipped out as I looked over at his proud smirk. “I think it’s Mallory, but Maleficent might be a better name for her.”

“Yeah, for such a hot girl, the bitch face is strong with that one.” His lip pulled up in distaste as we watched her finish her demonstration.

She seemed to be in fantastic shape. I could see why she was a trainer, but her attitude hadn’t been all that appealing. “I get the feeling it isn’t just the face.”

“Well... yeah, probably.” He sighed as he took a swig from his water bottle.

The muscles in my calves tensed up a little as we continued, protesting the exercise. We had barely started, and I had a feeling that this workout was going to kick my ass.

“Just don’t let her hear you calling her that. I don’t need her to make me a target 'cause you’re a dick.”

“Eh... I’ll just call her the Dragon.” I laughed as he mimicked, blowing fire out of his mouth.

I looked up and saw my little box on the screen had turned green. Hopefully, that was supposed to happen.

Green was good... right?

“Why are you blue?” My finger gestured toward the box labeled with his name.

“What?” He glanced up at the screen. “Oh... probably because my heart rate is slower.”

“Why am I the only one in the green zone?”

“It’s just the warm-up, I’m sure it’ll change.” His reassuring smile fell flat.

Great... what color was I going to turn next?

I found myself glancing up at the little screen more than I should. It was kind of freaking me out.

No one else seemed to be self-conscious about it, though. Maybe I did need to calm down a bit and just focus on myself.

“All right, treadmills. Let’s do this. We’re gonna do an interval with three pushes and one all out. I’ll call out rest times in between,” Mallory called out over her headset.

“Runners stay flat, and walkers take it to a 6 percent incline.”

Shit. I was supposed to speed up.

“Take it up to a thirty-second push in three... two... one.” Mallory’s voice was authoritative as she walked behind the treadmills.

Okay... focus. I could do this.

I pressed the five on the treadmill and tried to start a slow jog. My screen almost immediately turned orange, and my eyes widened as I looked over at Parker. He was still green.

And going at a nine. Fucker.

“Hannah, you don’t have to try to jog on the first day,” Mallory said, standing at the base of my treadmill. I was already panting as I tried to look back at her.

“Next push, I want you to walk. Just take the incline up, and it’ll give you the same heart rate response. There’s no reason to hurt yourself in the first class.”

I didn’t know if I should be offended or not. When she called time, I looked up and saw my little block alternating between red and orange. This was my first workout. Maybe she was right that I needed to ease my way into it.

“All right, treads. Let’s go! Push number two. Walkers, take it up to a seven on the incline,” she called out. “You want to be uncomfortable, but not maxed out. Three… two… one.”

I pressed the buttons and immediately felt the difference in the intensity of my walking. It was like I was going up a hill.

My legs were protesting, but it was still easier than the attempt at jogging had been. When she called time again, Parker dropped down to a fast walk and looked over at me.

“How you doin’, hun?”

“Good. I guess. Slow,” I sighed, feeling a little disappointed.

“Han, you’re fine. She wasn’t trying to be mean; it’s just really easy to injure yourself if you push too hard.”

“I know. I just hate this.” Feeling myself tearing up, but I swallowed hard and choked it back down.

I can do this. I will do this.

A little bit of embarrassment was worth taking care of me. I could swallow my pride and just keep going.

“Last push, people. I want to see you maintain or increase your intensity from the last two. Let’s go!” she yelled as she jogged down the aisle behind us, clapping loudly. “Three... two... one...”

“You got this, babe,” he encouraged as he pushed up his speed.

Staring at myself in the mirror in front of my treadmill, I noticed the sweat beading along my brow, felt the burning in the backs of my thighs. This workout was not my idea of fun.

“Ninety seconds to walk it out and get back to your base speed. Slow down in three... two... one.”

I lowered the incline and looked up at the screen. At least it wasn’t red. I wasn’t dying... yet.

“Take some deep breaths and bring your heart rate down, then we’re doing our first all-out.”

“Great...” My dry tone coaxed a laugh out of Parker.

“You’ll be fine, Han. Just do what makes you comfortable.”

“Pretty sure this whole thing makes me uncomfortable.”

“Well... too bad. Suck it up, peanut butter cup.”

“Pretty sure that’s what got me into this trouble.” I laughed as I discreetly flipped him off.

“Well... I’ll be here as you work your way out of it.”

“If you’ve got the energy to talk, you obviously have room to add on some intensity. Let’s get our next set started in three... two... one...,” Mallory yelled as she made eye contact with me in the mirror.

Returning my focus to myself in the mirror in front of me, I tried to stay in the groove of things, slowly working myself into an uncomfortable burn.

Every step brought me closer to my goal, and I just had to keep focusing on that, no matter how much I wanted to slay the tiny Dragon with the headset.

“All right, treads... wrap it up, you’re moving to the floor.”

“Do I have to?” I panted as I stepped down from the treadmill on slightly shaky legs.

“Yup. Let’s do this.”

Parker nudged me in the direction of the mirrored wall, and I tried not to get super intimidated as Mal dropped herself into a bridge using the TRX straps and then effortlessly pulled herself upright in quick succession.

My body hurt just watching her.

“Don’t worry about the perfect form on this one. You’re welcome to do an upright row if you can’t complete all sixteen reps with the bridge.”

“I’m gonna pretend I know what you just said,” I laughed as Mal addressed me quietly while the others, including a smirking Parker, got to work.

“I know this is intimidating, but you’re here. Let’s make your time here worth it. It’s not going to be easy, but you can do it.”

She helped me set up the straps and then quickly moved on to someone else as I slowly lowered myself backward.

My arms were already shaking, but I kept pushing through it as I pulled myself up for each rep. By the time I reached six, I was done. My arms were burning, I was panting, and a glance showed my little box lit up orange again.

“Just breathe, Han. Switch to the upright row, keep moving,” Parker whispered from his station beside me, his hands loosely gripping the TRX handles.

“I’m not gonna be able to move my arms tomorrow.”

“Well... you’re gonna have to get over it. Keep going,” he encouraged. “You’re doing great.”

I pulled up my metaphorical big girl panties, adjusted my feet, finished the last ten reps, and then shook my arms out once I let go of the demonic TRX straps.

“Nice job, Hannah,” Mallory complimented as she nodded and walked past my station.

“Uh... thanks,” I panted. Maybe Mal wasn't such a dragon.

“All right, weight group, let’s move to the rowing machines.”

Yeah... I was going to have to retract that thought.

The next ten minutes were an absolute blur. My legs hurt, my chest hurt, my arms were shaking... But I felt... not horrible.

“See... you made it. Was that so bad?” Parker asked as we sat on the floor and stretched.

“Yes.”

“Well... you finished.” He nodded, holding his fist out for a bump. “That’s what counts.”

“I don’t think I can stand up.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” he rolled his eyes, and I pursed my lips.

“I’m not. I literally don’t think I can stand up.”

Parker reached down and helped pull me up from the floor. I reluctantly followed him back out the studio door to get our things. I still hadn’t fully caught my breath.

“I told you that you’d kill it,” Ty smirked as he leaned against the wall and put his hand up for a high five.

“Yup... that’s exactly what I did.”

“I’m gonna overlook the sarcasm on that one,” he scolded.

I high-fived him as I trudged past him into the locker rooms.

***

“Do you want to grab a bite or go straight home?” Parker asked as we were finally ready to leave the studio. I was hungry, but the thought of food did not sound appealing.

“I just want to sit down. I don’t think I'll be moving for the rest of the night once I do.”

“Don’t forget to drink another bottle of water before you go to bed,” Parker instructed. “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, smart aleck,” he admonished. “Text me if you need me to come over.”

“I’ll probably pass out once I get home, but I’ll let you know.”

Parker swung his keys around his finger once and headed for the door. I went to follow him and then realized I’d forgotten my water bottle.

It was sitting right where I left it on the floor next to the lockers. My groan was involuntary as I bent down to reach it.

“What’s up, J? Are you in the next class?” Ty’s voice called out to the person who came in through the front door.

He was just out of my line of sight, but as I passed the desk, my breath caught when I saw him.

It was hard to tell with the dark blue hat he had pulled down low on his face, but I was pretty sure it was the same man from yesterday—just my luck.

“See you on Friday, gorgeous.” Ty waved as I walked past the desk, and J looked at me with open curiosity as I passed him.

“Wait…” He called out as I reached for the door. I hesitated and turned toward him.

What could this insanely attractive man possibly want from me?